Oak Ridge Today

Man dies in Clinton Highway crash

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An 86-year-old man died in a two-vehicle crash on Clinton Highway late Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

Fred Lay, who has a Clinton address, was driving east on Bull Run Road in Claxton in a 2005 Mercury Sable car when he turned onto southbound US Highway 25W (Clinton Highway), the Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a report. His vehicle turned into the path of a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer sport utility vehicle driven south in the inside lane of Clinton Highway by Marissa N. McCormick, 27, of Powell, and the two vehicles collided, the report said.

Southbound Clinton Highway heads toward Knoxville.

Lay died due to the crash, which was reported at about 4:56 p.m. Tuesday, the THP said. McCormick was not injured. [Read more…]

Woman arrested for probation violation after fatal creek crash

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Rebecca L. Vanasse

Rebecca L. Vanasse

 

An Oak Ridge woman was arrested on a probation violation charge after a fatal crash in Poplar Creek in Roane County on Tuesday, authorities said.

Rebecca L. Vanasse, 26, of North Purdue Avenue, was arrested by the Oak Ridge Police Department on the violation of probation charge on Tuesday, according to Anderson County court and jail records. A hold has also been placed on Vanasse for Rhea County, and she remained jailed at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Thursday morning, according to those records.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas confirmed that Vanasse is the same woman who has been identified as the driver in the fatal creek crash on Poplar Creek Road on Tuesday. She was arrested by ORPD after she was treated and released from the emergency room, Lucas said.

“We had a probation violation warrant and Rhea County had a warrant as well,” he said. [Read more…]

Criminal charges pending in fatal crash in Poplar Creek

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A 50-year-old Rocky Top man died when a 2006 Mazda car crashed off Poplar Creek Road and into Poplar Creek just north of west Oak Ridge late Tuesday morning, authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A 50-year-old Rocky Top man died when a 2006 Mazda 3 car crashed off Poplar Creek Road and into Poplar Creek just north of west Oak Ridge late Tuesday morning, authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

ROANE COUNTY—A 50-year-old Rocky Top man died and one person was injured when a car crashed off Poplar Creek Road and into Poplar Creek just north of west Oak Ridge late Tuesday morning, and criminal charges are pending, authorities said.

The man who died, Warner D. Martin, was a passenger in a silver 2006 Mazda 3 four-door car driven by Rebecca L. Vanasse, 26, of Oak Ridge, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Carrying three people, the car swerved on the narrow, curvy road and overcorrected, the THP said in a fatality report. Because of the overcorrection, the vehicle went down an embankment along the westbound side of the road and into the creek, where it became fully submerged, the THP said.

The single-vehicle crash was reported on Poplar Creek Road a few miles east of Blair Road at about 11:04 a.m. Tuesday. The front end of the car appeared to have plunged into the creek first. [Read more…]

Man killed in crash on Dutch Valley Road

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A 40-year-old man was killed after being ejected from a car in a single-vehicle crash on Dutch Valley Road in Anderson County on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Winston T. Nelson, of Clinton, was driving east in a 1992 Mazda Miata convertible on Dutch Valley Road near Smith Road when he failed to maintain his lane, according to information from the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Anderson County Sheriff’s Department.

Nelson swerved to avoid a collision with a westbound vehicle when he lost control of his car, went off the left shoulder of the road, and struck an embankment and then an AT&T phone box, the THP said in a fatality report. After hitting the phone box, the Mazda Miata spun and collided with a tree, the THP said. That impact caused the car to keep spinning until it stopped off the roadway on the left shoulder, according to the report.

But before it finally stopped, Nelson, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected out of the top of the car, the THP said. [Read more…]

Updated: Man killed in head-on collision on Andersonville Highway

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Note: This story was updated at 2 a.m. Dec. 4.

A Knoxville man died after a head-on collision on Andersonville Highway on Friday night, authorities said.

James D. Gunter, 56, was driving east on the highway, also known as State Route 61, in a 2006 Chevrolet Corvette at about 9:39 p.m. Friday when he crossed the yellow line to pass another vehicle and hit a 2006 Toyota 4Runner head-on in the westbound lane, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Gunter was killed, the THP said in a fatality report.

Gunter is suspected of drinking and drug use, according to the report. Alcohol and drug tests have been requested, which is routine in fatal crashes. [Read more…]

Man pleads guilty to homicide in fatal crash

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Justin Lee Seeber

Justin Lee Seeber

 

An Anderson County man pleaded guilty on Monday to criminally negligent homicide in the death of a 19-year-old woman in a single-vehicle crash on US 25W in May 2013.

Justin Lee Seeber, 28, also pleaded guilty in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton to reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon.

The crash on May 28, 2013, killed Amber Elaine Smith of Knoxville, a graduate of Hardin Valley Academy who attended Roane State Community College.

Seeber’s two-year sentence was suspended, and he was placed on state-supervised probation. As a standard offender, his release eligibility was set at 30 percent. If he successfully completes probation, he will not have to go to prison. But if he violates probation, he will have to serve prison time, authorities said. [Read more…]

Oliver Springs man killed in crash on Marlow Road

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An Oliver Springs man died in a head-on collision on Marlow Road on Tuesday night, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 10:19 p.m. Tuesday, according to a Tennessee Highway Patrol fatality report.

The THP report said Brian E. Hooks, 33, of Oliver Springs was driving east on Marlow Road in a 1992 Nissan four-door when he crossed the center line, entered the westbound lane, and collided head-on with a 1993 Chevrolet four-door driven by Ryan J. Maston, 26, of Clinton.

The crash was investigated by THP Sergeant Scott Hines. [Read more…]

Woman pleads guilty in fatal car-pedestrian crash on Clinton Highway

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Destany Lynn Cotner

Destany Lynn Cotner

 

A Clinton woman has pleaded guilty in a fatal car-pedestrian hit-and-run crash on Clinton Highway in March.

Destany Lynn Cotner, 25, pleaded guilty in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Friday to two charges of leaving the scene of an accident involving death and driving under the influence (first offense).

As part of the plea agreement, two other charges were dismissed. Those charges were driving with a suspended or revoked license (first offense) and possession of contraband in a penal facility.

It was a plea by information, meaning Cotner had not yet been indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury.

Cotner initially told the Tennessee Highway Patrol that she was the driver the night of the crash, but she later changed her story to say her co-defendant Isaac Irwin, 26, also of Clinton, was the driver, according to a narrative filed in the case and attached to warrants.

Cotner received a two-year prison sentence on the conviction of leaving the scene of an accident involving death. As a standard offender, her release eligibility is 30 percent. Her sentence on this felony conviction was suspended, and she will be placed on supervised probation. [Read more…]

THP: Charges pending in fatal motorcycle-pickup crash in Claxton

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Charges are pending in a fatal collision between a motorcycle and pickup truck on Blockhouse Valley Road in Claxton on Tuesday, authorities said.

The crash, which killed a motorcyclist, was reported at about 7 a.m. Tuesday, September 26, at the intersection of Blockhouse Valley Road and Lost Ridge Road, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a fatality report.

The report said Joshua Williams, 29, of Clinton, was riding a 2015 Suzuki GXS motorcycle west on Blockhouse Valley Road when a 2004 Nissan Titan pickup truck driven east by Travis Darwin, 35, of Oak Ridge, turned left onto Lost Ridge Road in front of the motorcycle. The motorcycle ridden by Williams hit the front right side of the truck driven by Darwin, and Williams was thrown off the motorcycle, the THP said.

Williams was wearing a helmet, but he was killed, the report said. [Read more…]

Meth, heroin thrown out car window, patrol cars hit, THP says

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Clarissa Sharee Tindell

Clarissa Sharee Tindell

 

Sixty-three grams of methamphetamine were thrown out of a car window and two patrol vehicles were hit during a police chase that started in Clinton and ended in Rocky Top on Sunday, July 30, authorities said. The vehicle occupants also threw out about one-half gram of heroin, and the car they were in almost hit two Anderson County patrol vehicles head-on, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

That afternoon, THP Trooper Isaiah Lloyd tried to stop a black Honda sedan for failure to yield the right of way and a turn signal violation at the intersection of State Route 61 (North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard) and Longmire Road in Clinton, near the Clinch River and Anderson County Detention Facility, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Clinton.

The 1992 Honda Accord had cut off a red pickup truck at the intersection, Lloyd said.

But the car refused to stop after he activated his emergency equipment, Lloyd said.

While the Honda was traveling down Longmire Road, the car occupants threw two items out the window, according to Lloyd:

  1. a baby formula can that contained a jar with about 63.93 grams of methamphetamine, and
  2. a black metal box that contained a set of scales, 0.53 grams of heroin, and multiple plastic bags.

[Read more…]

Man pleads guilty to homicide in fatal crash, but not clear if he had heart attack

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Pictured above during a plea agreement hearing in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017, are Danny Lee Bean, right, and Tom Marshall, public defender in the Seventh Judicial District (Anderson County). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Pictured above during a plea agreement hearing in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017, are defendant Danny Lee Bean, right, and Tom Marshall, public defender in the Seventh Judicial District (Anderson County). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—A Marlow man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to two charges of vehicular homicide in a fatal crash on Oliver Springs Highway in Marlow in November 2012, but it’s not clear if he might have had a heart attack, possibly before the crash.

Danny Lee Bean, 59, received an effective 10-year sentence for his guilty pleas in the head-on three-vehicle crash that killed Alberta Farrer, 56, and Pat Smith, 62.

Bean’s sentence was suspended, and he was placed on supervised probation. He had to surrender his driver’s license, and he can’t drive.

Bean had hydrocodone and alprazolam in his system, but he had prescriptions for those medicines at therapeutic levels, attorneys said at a plea agreement hearing in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Wednesday morning. Hydrocodone is a narcotic pain-reliever, and alprzazolam can be used to treat anxiety and panic disorders. It’s not clear whether a doctor had advised Bean to not drive after taking either medication.

Before the plea, a question had been raised about whether Bean had experienced a heart attack around the time of the crash, possibly before it. [Read more…]

Driver, passenger arrested after car allegedly flees from THP, strikes two patrol units

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Clarissa Sharee Tindell

Clarissa Sharee Tindell

 

Two Knoxville residents face charges of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, among other charges, after fleeing from a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper and crashing into state and county patrol cars in Rocky Top on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The initial pursuit by THP Trooper Isaiah Lloyd started on State Route 61 (North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard) at Longmire Road in east Clinton, near the Clinch River, according to a preliminary THP report. It continued onto northbound US 25 W (Lake City Highway), headed toward Rocky Top (the former Lake City).

After passing through Rocky Top, the chase headed north on SR 116 into Campbell County before looping back into Rocky Top, traveling down Cherry Bottom Road and Oak Grove Road before taking US 441 (Norris Freeway) back into the city, according to a narrative in the THP report and an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department incident report.

After the car, a 1992 Honda Accord, passed under Interstate 75, it tried to make a left turn onto Sunshine Drive in Rocky Top, the report said. But it was unable to complete the turn and the car struck a concrete curb, busting its left front tire, the report said. [Read more…]